Relicanth
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: [AU] Loneliness steals the company of those who see them. Empty frames create a black hole that need to be filled. Families, in time, drift apart - but not like this. Not when a house filled with relics of the past feels more of shadow than of life. Not when a child is stolen from his twin. Not when empty promises go unfulfilled, and old stories go unfinished.


**A/N:** Written for The Novel with Prompts Challenge on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges Forum (link's in my profile), for prompt #001 – introduction.

Also, some of you may notice that this fic is named after a Pokemon. Let's see if anyone can figure out why. :D

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**Relicanth  
Chapter 1. Introduction**

The dining room had glowed in the light of chandelier's tiny little globes, but the hallways were bathed only in shadow. Kouji felt uncomfortable in it; the shadows seemed to become more lively as they moved away from the dining room. Even if lights dotted the passage they walked, the rustling curtains tossed shadows about until his skin crawled. It didn't help that carefully carved statues lined the passage: mostly ceramic relics of famous figures or beasts but occasionally interspersed by marble or some less recognisable medium. Even if their eyes didn't jump out in the poor light, it crept Kouji out.

Kouichi didn't seem to have a problem with it though. Or rather, no more a problem than he had with the rest of the mansion.

'It's creepy,' he'd whispered when they'd first entered, low enough so their parents didn't pick up the comment.

Kouji had disagreed then. He agreed now. Unfortunately, their parents' presence was required, and since the pair of them were talking business with the owner of the mansion, the two boys were essentially left to their own devices. Kodai Shinjirou, the owner, had given the twins permission to roam about his personal collection of art pieces in the mean tine, spanning the entire floor.

The twins, bored with all the business talk they couldn't grasp nor input with and curious to see the art, jumped at the idea. But that was before Kouji registered how shadowy it was outside the dining room. It wasn't dark per say; he could see his brother beside him well enough, and the statues that littered the walkway, but all of it was washed out like a black and white video in bad lighting.

'Look at this one,' Kouichi said to him, his voice echoing slightly in the empty space. He was pointing at a dog-like figure, carved in white save for the carefully brushed stains of red. 'It's almost like blood.'

'That interested you?' Kouji said in surprise. He was the dog person, not his brother, and the bloodstain impression was just creepy. 'He looks like he was in a scuffle with a cat.' Like Ookami tended to look like after he antagonised the neighbour's fearless cat.

Kouichi shrugged. 'It caught my attention.' Neither of them were interested in famous political figures after all, and while he had stopped to take a closer look at what had looked to be a dragon, neither of them were particularly interested in fairy-tales either.

Animals were another ball-game. They'd already stopped at a few before the dog – even if Kouichi preferred cuddly little cats to snarling dogs. And the dog had a snarl; it had been carved into his form so that it seemed to growl even from the depths of ceramic at them.

Kouji looked more closely. The fur stood up on end, sharp and bent slightly back like the crinkled blade of a knife, and those eyes were focused and on guard, staring straight ahead as though it was ready to pounce on anything that came, like a guard dog.

He wondered if this was a figure of history as well. Like a dog that had survived the Crusaders' war or something like that. He tried to read the plaque, but the lighting wasn't quite good enough to allow that, so he glared at the ceiling instead. The bulbs winked down at him, glowing a pale orange. And yet their light didn't seem to spread.

Kouichi glanced at his brother's frustrated face, then read the plaque himself. He seemed to have no trouble doing it too, and although he was the one with the better night vision, he didn't seem to notice the change in lighting either. 'Sure it's dark,' he had said when Kouji had brought it up, simply giving his brother an odd look. 'The whole place is.'

Kouji didn't bother asking how his brother could read in that light. Kouichi would tease him about needing glasses again, and then Kouji would shoot back with a mix of playfulness and hurt pride and they'd be quarrelling amidst their giggles. A good ice-breaker, particularly when the ice that needed breaking was their surroundings, but it seemed inappropriate when surrounded by a mix of art pieces and old relics.

'It's Garmr,' Kouichi said, straightening up. 'A bloodstained watchdog from Norse mythology that guards the door to Hel.' He paused. 'What is Hel? Do you know?' This was their first encounter with Norse mythology.

'Hell?' Kouji repeated. 'Like the opposite of Paradise?'

'I don't think so.' Kouichi's brow furrowed, though Kouji couldn't see it in the dim. 'It's spelt with one "l".' Like all Japanese, his pronunciation of the "l" could barely be distinguished from an "r", but he'd been learning English long enough to manage to portray the difference. And Kouji had been learning it equally as long and was able to pick it up. 'Why is this plaque in English anyway?'

'It must be one of the ones made in another country.' Despite the impression of the hallway and certain other creepy artefacts, like the blood, Kouji had to admit the artwork was pretty cool. The blood even felt read. 'Maybe the lighting's done like this for effects.' It certainly helped anyway, though he'd rather be in a bright room with lots of paintings than in a dim hallway with half-shadowed statues.

'They do give a cool effect,' Kouichi admitted. 'This one seems almost alive, the way his eyes are staring straight forward.'

'You do realise they're staring at us, right?' Kouji asked, suddenly feeling that gaze.

'Right.' Kouichi sounded a little uncomfortable as well. 'I hadn't thought of that.

They moved on, seeing a fairy and a beetle and a polar bear their mother would have just adored, made of crystal which sparked even in the poor light. But none of them glared like the watchdog – until they came upon an eagle who looked black in the shadow.

Both of them stopped short to stare at it; unlike the watchdog its eyes were made from something other than ceramic, something red, and gleamed. They'd seen it a ways away, and those floating eyes in the darkness had already made them stop once before. But they knew what haunted the hallways, but curiosity and pride spurred them both on. They might be brothers, but neither enjoyed displays of weakness, even if it was discerning to be followed through the hallway with sightless eyes.

'Here's a door,' Kouichi said once they stopped in front of the eagle. 'Shall we go there next?'

'Lets,' Kouji said, a little more loudly than he intended. The answer seemed to shiver in the air and the eagle's eyes seemed to grow sharper.

'A giant in eagle form,' Kouichi read. 'He sits at the edge of the world, his wing beats causing the wind. Also known as the corpse swallower.' He paused. '_Corpse swallower_?'

'That thing better not give us nightmares,' Kouji muttered, turning away from it and feeling for the handle on the door. He grasped metal soonafter – a long slender piece which he yanked down and pushed. The door creaked. 'Come on.'

'I can't read the name.' Kouichi frowned at it, before jumping back, startled, as light flooded out from the now opened door. 'Eep!'

Kouji snapped back, wondering what had startled his brother. Kouichi put a hand over his chest and laughed, though he blinked rapidly to help his eyes adjust to the flood of light. 'It liked like the eagle was jumping out with all that light!'

Kouji decided he would much rather not imagine that. 'There are paintings here,' he said instead. 'And some stuff in glass cases. Come on.'

Kouichi came, shutting the door behind him then wincing at how bright the room seemed to be. Kouji was more appreciative though, letting a small sigh escape his lips. 'This is much better.'

'Better?' Kouichi exclaimed. 'If anything, you can see the shadows better now.'

Kouji gave the room a critical glance. 'I don't see creepy shadows here,' he said. 'Though there's no window.' He was mystified at that, though maybe it was a security thing. If someone could see the paintings from outside, they might break in and try to steal them. There was another chandelier in the room, instead of ceiling lights, which helped as well. 'Do you have something against chandeliers?' he asked.

'No…' Kouichi looked up at it, still with a slight wince on his face. 'We have one in the sitting room. It's not too different from this one.'

'Except much more expensive,' Kouji pointed out. 'I know you're photosensitive, but it's not as bright as outside was, and you were fine then.'

It wasn't terribly bright outside either: partially blue skies threaded with grey clouds. Or it had been anyway.

'It looks brighter. As though there's nothing sucking the light up.'

'Sucking the light up?' Kouji repeated. 'You couldn't come up with a better metaphor?' He shook his head. 'Anyway, this is going to get us nowhere. Let's just look around and move on; Kodai-san mentioned a garden at the end of the hallway, right?'

'I think so…'

Kouji knew full well his brother hadn't been listening, and he smirked. 'Look at this one,' he said, pointing to an angel. 'Pretty cool for a male angel.'

Kouichi looked at it. The angel was mostly white, but the lighting effects made it look almost grey and washed out to him. He didn't comment though; he struggled to find the words and when he got something that sounded halfway representative of what he felt, his brother had moved on. 'And why do they put a devil next to an angel?' he complained.

'It's a pair,' Kouichi said, reading the plaque that hung between them. 'Can't understand what this says though.' It was only because of the arrows pointing to both paintings that he knew the plaque referred to both of them.

Kouji shrugged and moved on, coming to one of the glass cases in the room. He glanced at an old boat model, but wasn't too interested in it. There was a hand of some sort too; something that would interest his brother more than him so he pointed it out. And there was a candle holder with ordinary looking candles in it, though the holder seemed ornate. He lingered at that a moment; it didn't look like the sort you'd use in a romantic dinner date, but rather the sort in a funeral possession. He didn't know why, but it had a sombre feel to it.

He looked at the plaque. 'This one's not in Japanese or English either.' He made a mental note to ask later, along with the pair of paintings from earlier.

Kouichi was still staring at the hand when he moved on to more paintings lining the wall. He stopped at one with a poppy garden in a rose gold frame, a vivacious mix of red and yellow and orange that took the breath of even those with little appreciation of the natural scene away. 'Gorgeous,' he breathed.

Kouichi came to look at it. 'Why?' he asked.

Kouji gave his brother an incredulous look. 'What do you mean?' he said. 'Why are sunsets beautiful?'

'Sunsets are full of something.' Kouichi shook his head. 'That poppy field seems empty.' He blinked, lips furling into a slight frown. 'I think that's what it is about this mansion. It's full of all sorts of different things: different art or history pieces, different stories, but it's empty somehow. Like there aren't any happy little kids running about.'

'I should think not.' Kouji gave his brother another odd look. 'His entire family's dead. The guy's all alone.' He dropped his voice when he said that, though for respect or uncomfortableness, he couldn't say.

'Right.' This time Kouichi's grimace was for his own tactlessness. 'It was a silly thought.' But then he glanced at the painting again and thought it wasn't that silly after all. How could such a bright painting in such a bright room make him think of loneliness and emptiness?

He glanced away, and something else caught his attention. An empty frame, a dark gold one with something that looked more like symbols than any sort of writing script…though, since the Egyptians used hieroglyphics that looked no different to symbols to someone who didn't understand them, that wasn't a particularly well-founded assumption.

He looked closer, though he didn't touch it. Not like Kouji had touched the Garmr statue. Something stopped him; that same something that added a little creepiness to their curiosity and awe. Like the sort of thing that would stop someone touching the cobwebs in a horror-house, in case there was a trap attached. Except it was a private exhibit – perhaps set up specifically because of the planned visit, or perhaps it had always been like that. Either way, there was no scars of dust, so it had been regularly cleaned, not just for them.

There was something strange about the frame though. Or maybe it was the black inside it: not paper, or cardboard but something darker than both. Emptier than hollow statues – or not so hollow, Kouichi thought, as he remembered the Garmr staring at them and the eagle closing in. Emptier than two dimensional paintings. Almost like a black hole – which was probably the most ridiculous metaphor he could come up with. He'd heard of cursed paintings before, but not cursed picture frames.

He supposed the black could be a painting of some sort, but he'd never seen paint _that_ black.

'Must be a valuable frame,' Kouji commented, coming around. 'I can't think of any other reason it would be empty.'

There was a plaque underneath it, unlike with the poppy field painting. That meant it wasn't made but found or brought from elsewhere. The twins hadn't been listening the more detailed explanation too thoroughly.

'I guess so,' Kouichi said uncertainly. 'It could be some sort of relic…but since when are frames considered relics?'

Kouji shrugged. 'It's rather creepy though,' he said.

At least the twins were in agreement about that, though they'd gone back and forth between other things.

'Let's look at the other stuff,' Kouji said eventually, turning away. His brother followed suit, though he stopped a moment and blinked, looking confused. Kouji continued on: 'I have to say, between the scale of cool to creepy, everything's pretty interesting here.'

'I guess there's a reason we're always staking out the haunted house when it comes around.' Kouichi grinned slightly, shaking off the strange feeling and the way dark spots danced around the room. That was bound to happen after staring at pure black for too long after all. 'And the creepier portions of art exhibits. Remember the doll house?'

'Wasn't as girly as I thought it'd be.' The twins drifted away from the empty frame. Kouji showed his brother the candle holder the other had missed; Kouichi pointed out some sort of ring that also had Norse roots. That plaque was in English: the first English one they'd seen in awhile, though the candle holder's one was in Japanese, having once belonged to a Heien Emperor.

'Has it gone darker?' Kouichi asked suddenly, staring at an elephant of Hindu origin. Or he thought it was Hindu anyway; he didn't know any other cultures or religions that considered elephants sacred, and it looked important. He'd just realised he wasn't squinting anymore as he had been in the brightness earlier; the light wasn't bouncing off the gold as it had been earlier.

Now that he thought about it, it hadn't been bouncing off that frame either. Though that didn't seem to be a particularly profound thought. Not like when they tried to guess who Isis was and why her tears were so significant. All they'd managed to agree on was that she was some sort of angel, mermaid or goddess – both of them had fluctuated between all three options.

Kouji was outlining his mermaid theory as he opened the room, gesturing his brother out first. Kouichi was laughing at how outlandish it sounded until he stepped through, and then it was like he'd been thrown into darkness.

He fell soundlessly forward and Kouji let go of the handle to grab him, both of them sliding to the floor. The eagle's gleaming eyes glared above them, and as Kouichi blinked and his eyesight returned, they seemed a fuzzy red like a lake filled with blood.

Kouji's head appeared soonafter though, blocking out the eerie sight and letting Kouichi close his eyes and try to calm down.

'What happened?' Kouji demanded, shifting now that he saw his brother's eyes focus on him, helping the other to sit, and then stand.

Kouichi managed to, with his brother's help. 'I don't know,' he said, one hand automatically coming up to the forehead and then dropping down again. 'Dizzy?' Going from a bright room to a dark one did do that sometimes, but his heart had been thudding as though his consciousness had been temporarily caught somewhere else.

'I guess this weird lighting would do it.' Kouji looked at the orange light bulbs, glowing weakly. 'Let's just go to the garden for now; we can look at the rest of the stuff afterwards.'

They did that, drinking in the pale warm sun and the fresh flower fragrance for a bit, sitting on one of the many benches that littered the place. There weren't many statues there as expected: only one in the fountain as far as they could see, of a group of people. They hadn't looked at it though; they decided to take a little break on the bench first, though Kouji found his eyes drifting over every now and then.

Kouichi just felt a headache coming on and his eyes slipping shut until he had nodded off on his brother's shoulder. There was a squawk somewhere that reminded him distantly of the eagle, but as long as his glowing red eyes weren't there it wasn't a concern. The bird that flaps its wings and creates the wind, he remembered, though everything was becoming still and even the squawk became muted. Like his teacher's voice droning away into nothing when he drifted off in class.

He didn't stir when Kouji tried to shake him awake some minutes later.


End file.
